Hopper, Hugh - The Gift of Purpose

SKUCuneiform 3334

"I got a message a few months ago from Hugh Hopper's wife Christine. She reported that since Hugh's passing, she's been struggling with finances. Of course she's also struggling emotionally, as she misses him terribly, but the gist of her message was a call for financial help. She recalled that Hugh told her that if she ran into trouble, to ask their friends for help. So she did. In response, John Roulat, Steve Feigenbaum, and I decided to produce a limited edition benefit CD, 'The Gift Of Purpose'. The CD features a live concert by Bone (Didkovsky/Hopper/Roulat) that was beautifully recorded at Orion Sound in Baltimore. There is also a bonus track by myself, John, Colin Marston (Behold....the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia, Krallice), and Daevid Allen (Gong, Soft Machine, etc). Daevid contributed some very moving vocals which pay tribute to Hugh. John, Steve, and I are splitting the manufacturing costs and donating the gross income to Christine. Steve has already wired her some money in advance. "The Gift of Purpose" is a Cuneiform Record, in digipak format, with cover design by Bill Ellsworth. So it looks and sounds very, very good! For those of you new to Bone, we were a trio that was initiated when Hugh contacted me some years ago suggesting we collaborate on a record. Our record "Uses Wrist Grab" came out on Cuneiform a few years back, and we figured we were done. However, we were sort of drafted into doing live performance by Bruce Gallanter of Downtown Music Gallery, who invited us to perform at a festival he'd organized. Once we discovered we could pull off this material live, we did a handful of gigs, including the one on this record. We're very proud of the performance we unleashed in Baltimore, and thrilled that we can make it available to all of Hugh's friends through this benefit CD! I hope you will support this project by purchasing a copy of The Gift of Purpose."-Nick Didkovsky

This CD is only being sold by people who have agreed to pay the Hopper family the full selling price of $15.00 each copy. That means that right now, you can buy it from Downtown Music Gallery in New York City and Wayside Music only. Every cent of your $15.00 goes to Hugh's family.

It pained me greatly to learn that after 40 years of giving such great music to the world (and definitely being one of the coolest people in the world), that Hugh's family would find themselves in such circumstances and I am doing everything I can to help. If Hugh's lifetime in music means something to you, I hope you will consider helping too.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating

Not a review but a rememberance....
I went to see a Robert Wyatt Birthday tribute at a famous venue in new york ,and Hugh and Daevid Allen played a sort of Soft Machine set ,with Daevid leading the audience in a chant to help Robert feel better(..well,to make things easy to describe,I'll just say that).
But after the show I saw Mr. Hopper on stage putting his bass away...so I went up to talk to him. Yes,he was so very kind and willing to converse about his past,...but I had mentioned I had brought a copy of Daevid's "Gong Dreaming" book and missed talking to him too,and mentioned that I'd wished I could get Daevid to sign it. Hugh said,"I'll take it to him,just wait here!" Hugh took the book and ran backstage,...and don't you know when Mr. Hopper came back he had my book with an autograph and a drawing in hand!
He then disappeared before I could find a Soft Machine picture in it's pages for him to sign himself....
But there's how kind and thoughtful he was!
Thanks for the music Hugh,...and for getting Daevid's autograph for me too.

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I've not heard the album but I was at the Orion Studios for the show. As Nick says, it was in the same vein as "Uses Wrist Grab" representing one side of Hugh's musical talent. If you like Bone, then the show will blow you away.
On a personal note, I was able to chat with the man himself, a real pleasure. He even remembered who I was when as we had communicated via snail mail many years earlier.
All-in-all, I am sure that this will be a fine addition to Hugh's varied catalogue. I always looked forward a any new release with him on it as it always expanded my own musical horizons and this will be no exception. And of course it will have the added bonus of my applause!

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I just picked this up off Bandcamp digitally... I offered more than the asking price since the proceeds go to Hugh's wife. Man... it feels good to give what I can to the family of a man that has given me so much over the years. I wish I could contribute more. Thank you, Hugh!